The layman, not caring for minaret or spire or steeple
Nor which god, The God
Seeks recess, respite, reprieve, refuge
Finding them in the home of the other
Whose response is fashioned not by the polity
But the conscience of the citizenry
The commoners who extend hands
Of brotherhood and comradeship

The high priests continue at their table
Pashas and potentates
Oblivious to the outrage
Ostriches in their ivory towers
Living in denial, uncomprehending
Complaining, colluding, orchestrating
Fiddling away the fate of the feeble
The deprived, the disenfranchised, the disowned
As disillusionment, despair and death darken their lands

Who then the heathen, who the infidel
Who the human made in His like
Where the morals of the lords and masters
On either side of the cross and the crescent

awesome! indeed the true religion of God is in the conscience of the citizenry…. according to Qur’an (being a Muslim that’s my holy scripture) God claims to live inside every human being, closer even than their jugular veins….but I wonder where that Human is… on either side of the cross and the crescent… let us collaborate with a few other human souls and spread this proper way of looking at religion, scriptures, their values and other things…. shall we?

I really find it disturbing, how people have formed boundaries around them according to their religions. Humanity lies far deep down and religious differences seems to be occupying the surface fully. This is not right.
Love your poem on this sensitive topic. Beautiful !

Power, or the love of power, will always find a way to divide and rule, using whatever means it can. Once something has a face or a name it can become a target for hatred – perhaps, one day, Humanity will prevail.

So sad and so true my friend. It bothers me to no end when the people who are meant to be the most “holy” are the ones most corrupt. Those are the ones who are meant to be leading by example and sadly, they (at least to us Catholics) preach humility and poverty while strutting about in their finery. They preach love and peace but spread hatred and war. It’s enough to turn a lot of people away from religion entirely, which is quite possibly the most heinous part of the whole thing. Yet another lovely piece. I look forward to many more.

I am not Catholic but have been so impressed with the changes the newest Pope has been bringing in to the church. He seems to genuinely love people. Maybe God will use him to start the change we all need.

Yes, once I was a Catholic. Now part of a Bible church. Jesus was the most humble of all, He had no where to lay His head. As people, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Muslim, we all are guilty of perverting the Word of God. We set it up for our own goals, our own little box. God does not fit in a box, the god that does is that little “g”, one of our own making. Let us agree to follow Christ, let us follow His Path, let us reflect His love, let us remember He is our leader.

I’m with you on that one. As I study more, I am more impressed with the teachings of Catholicism and less impressed by many of the people that both teach it and claim to believe it. If you wanna see someone who is actually living what they teach you have to look at St Francis of Assisi and a few others

Oh, absolutely. The Bible is and always will be the purest source of the Word for all Christians. When I look at the saints, I see people who have followed His way a lot more than I have. People I could learn a lot from. It’s never a replacement for the Bible. Just something to aspire to.

We never know what is in someone’s heart. Jim, we aspire to Jesus, as John the Baptist said “I must decrease so He can increase” and then was beheaded. You are a saint, not by your deeds, but by His blood.

Being forgiven and being saintly are two very different things. By His sacrifice we are forgiven, but there are several parts in the gospels where He tells parables of where sin leads, lots of wailing and gnashing of teeth etc. He never implies that there won’t be repercussions for our deeds, good or bad. I’d rather not know what some of those punishments will be, so I try to live with as much love and peace as possible. I try to believe not just in Jesus as our savior, but as the ultimate teacher. If I’m not living what he taught, I’m not putting very much faith in Him and His way.

absolutely right. There are repercussions on earth, for we reap what we sow so to speak, but in heaven, we are forgiven, totally forgiven because we are covered in Christ’s blood and God the Father sees us through that. When the Father’s justice looks for payment, our sin debt is marked paid. On earth, yes, we suffer the consequences of our actions, but in heaven, Jesus paid the price.

That is where my opinions differ then. I’ve found that the corrupt are the ones who get ahead in this world. All they see are their lives here and seek worldly prizes rather than spiritual ones. I think it’s Matthew (and likely other places) that Jesus says that people who seek their rewards on earth get them from man and not from God. I know where I’d rather get my rewards from. By saying you believe, but not acting as He said, you are behaving like the pharisees that Jesus was constantly at odd with, calling them hypocrites.
By the way I mean you as in the universal you, not you personally. You seem cool. Oh, and this is exactly the kind of discussion I created Project free faith for. If you’d like to, I would appreciate a guest blog showing what you believe. It’s always interesting to compare views with the faithful of the world.

You have a wise and knowing heart about humanity. Your compassion and concern for your fellow man are wonderful. Keep on spreading the word that you want peace. We all have to stand together to conquer bullies.

But who is the bully? Who the villain? That’s exactly what this piece is sbout. The blame game can only stop if we all look inwards & accept our responsibility & limitations….. Thanks so much for reading & your encouragement. Bless you!

A brilliant write and so fitting at this time of terror. I so admire your dramatic and emotive use of words here. I think the very same picture could be painted of many politicians. I’m one who believes that there is power in each of us to do something but it’s amazing how fear can paralyze us and many of us become the ostrich behind our screens. I agree with those who say that we need to be a much more active citizenry but if we are to survive as a human race,we need to also recognise that we might be part of the problem and the solution. Well done on the interesting debates you sparked!

I hope you feel better for re-blogging that piece. Remember, the role that writers, artists etc have played in advocating change and revolutionising the world. As you say, it can be depressing hence I choose to escape a little on my blog because my work is about actioning the change I want to see in the world. I have learnt that there is power in each of us to make a difference. Apart from your very important message, the artistry of your words is excellent!